


Stay

by Cameo_Cat



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Communication, Emotional Baggage, F/M, Feels, Jess and Aeon show up for a second, Light Angst, ML New York spoilers, New York Special, One Shot, a much needed talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:08:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26675665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cameo_Cat/pseuds/Cameo_Cat
Summary: It has been a horrible day and now Adrien is leaving. Marinette has already lost her partner. She can't lose Adrien too.A New York Special fix-it-with-even-more-angst fic.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 15
Kudos: 212





	Stay

Today had been terrible. Marinette tucked Chat Noir’s ring into her purse. She had been angry and upset about what happened in Paris but she had never expected Chat to give up his miraculous. Maybe she had been too harsh.

What was she supposed to do without him? He was her partner. He had fought by her side for so long now and though they may have butt heads on occasion that never meant she wanted him gone. She loved her kitty. He was a great partner and a good friend. Marinette couldn’t bear the idea of choosing someone else as her partner. No one else deserved to wear this ring.

As if the city knew she was depressed the rain had been coming down hard as she meandered back to the hotel in a daze. Her clothes were soaked and her hair was plastered to her head. She couldn’t even find the energy to care about the cold she’d probably get from being out in this weather. What did any of it matter? There were so many other things for her to be worried and depressed about.

She came upon the hotel and looked up to see Adrien walking up the sidewalk from the other direction. He looked about as miserable as her. Not even seeing Adrien could lift her spirits right now.

The students inside the lobby of the hotel flooded out asking where they had been and if they were okay. Questions Marinette didn’t have the energy to give. She climbed onto the first step when she heard a car pull up along the side of the road. Strange since the city was on lockdown due to the supervillain.

The car door opened on its own and Adrien’s father’s voice barked out from a screen demanding Adrien get in. “I should have never listened to your friend. This city is much too dangerous.”

That hit something in Marinette. Her fault. Her fault. Her fault! Everything had been her fault! The villain getting away, Chat Noir abandoning her, and now Adrien was being forced home. She gripped the railing of the stairs as she looked back at Adrien.

“I have to go. I’m sorry, Marinette. You fought so hard for me to be here.” He gave her a waning smile, “I wouldn’t have minded being stuck here a little longer with a friend like you.”

“Wait!” She shouted. He looked back at her with a small sigh.

“Marinette, I know you went to all this trouble to get me here but--”

“Don’t go. Please, don’t go.” She was already too emotional but now it was flooding out like a tsunami. She already lost Chat Noir tonight. She couldn’t bear losing Adrien too. “You have to stay! You have to because I--I--”

“You what?” He took a step away from the car.

“I like you.” Marinette was surprised by how easily the words came out, “I care about you so much and not just in a friendly way. I’ve been trying to ignore it or move past it this entire trip but I can’t. You mean too much to me.”

He didn’t say anything. The only sound was the patter of the rain on the pavement and Marinette’s own labored breathing as she tried fruitlessly to keep the tears at bay.

“Today…” She looked down the barren streets of the city, “A lot has happened today and none of it good. But if there was ever any moment that wasn’t bad it was when you were there. So I am asking you not just as your friend but as a girl that cares about you more than anything...don’t go. Come inside and we’ll dry off and watch movies with our friends. We’ll go sightseeing. We’ll eat hot dogs and walk through Central Park and just be normal teenagers on a school trip. Don’t you want that too?”

She hadn’t noticed but she had been walking towards him the entire time she had been talking. She was right next to him in the pouring rain. Tears slid down her face but they were lost in the mix of the rain that soaked her. “Please stay. If not for me then for yourself. You deserve to be here, everyone wants you here...I want you here.”

“Adrien!” His father’s voice shouted from the car’s screen, “Get in the car!”

Marinette held out her hand towards him. “Come inside, please.”

“Normal sounds great.” He closed the car door behind him.

She couldn’t help it and hugged him tight. He didn’t hesitate to return it lifting her slightly off her feet as he crushed her against him, his face buried in the crook of her neck. She knew that she needed this hug but apparently Adrien had as well. She waited until he set her back down on her feet to let go.

There were still questions left unanswered but at the moment it didn’t matter. Adrien was staying and Marinette had finally been honest with herself. She could say that Adrien was just a friend a million times but it could never make it true. Even if they never ended up together he would always be more than a friend in her eyes. She could be a friend to him if that’s all he ever wanted from her but her feelings were her own and she wouldn’t deny them any longer.

They walked inside and everyone got dried off and changed into pajamas before congregating in the meeting room turned movie theatre. When Marinette came out of the bathroom Plagg and Chat Noir’s ring were missing. Marinette started to have an anxiety attack before Tikki explained that Plagg knew Chat Noir was nearby and went to return the ring to him. Marinette wasn’t sure how safe that was but had to believe that Chat Noir would take the miraculous back. If she saw him again she was going to give him the biggest hug in the world.

Marinette and Adrien were the last ones to leave their rooms and met in the hallway on their way to join the others. Oh boy...

“Marinette,” Adrien stopped her before they got to the elevator, “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Yes, of course.”

“I wanted to say thank you for convincing me to stay. It had been a bad day like you said and I was ready to fly back home and forget everything. A part of me still thinks that maybe I should have but you made me realize that there is more for me to do here. Hopefully something good.”

“You deserve to be here. One bad day shouldn’t ruin what is supposed to be a fun trip.”

“It’s more than that. I…” He sighed heavily, “There’s a lot going on in my head right now and I really needed a friend.”

There was still the ever present question hanging above them. The one neither wanted to ask. Adrien started to reach towards the elevator button.

“Adrien,” Marinette pulled his hand away, “I want to talk about what happened outside.”

“Is it about what you said? That you like me as more than a friend?”

“Yeah.” Marinette squeezed her arms to her chest as if that could protect her from anything Adrien would say. “I know that it came out of nowhere and that you’re with Kagami but in the moment I needed to say something and I said that and it was the truth. It is the truth. I do like you and I have for a long time now. Basically since the day we met. I tried to tell you multiple times before but never could. Then Kagami came along and you seemed to really like her so I wanted to let go of my crush on you so I didn’t end up getting hurt and could be happy for you.”

“Marinette--”

As soon as she started speaking she couldn’t stop. All the thoughts she had been keeping in coming out now in an endless torrent of jumbled emotions. “That’s why I’ve been all jumpy during this trip cause I thought I was doing the right thing by avoiding you and telling myself you were just a friend. But you’re not. You mean so much more to me than just a friend and I know I’ve made things awkward between us but I needed to say it. You needed to hear it. I know I shouldn’t expect you to return my feelings since you are with Kagami now and if you say that you only see me as a friend then that is perfectly okay. I am more than happy to be your friend cause you are an amazing person and I love that you’re in my life. I love you. What isn’t there to love? So if you can confirm that I am just a friend to you then--”

“Marinette!” Adrien shook her by the shoulders and she clammed up. She had said way too much.

“I’m sorry.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I ramble when I’m nervous.”

“That actually explains a lot.” Adrien chuckled. “Marinette,” He spoke softly, “Marinette, can you look at me when I say this? Please?”

With a great deal of effort she opened her eyes to look at Adrien. He gave her a small smile that made her already racing heart skip a beat.

“I um…I’m not sure where to start.” He rubbed the back of his neck. He opened and closed his mouth looking for the right words. “You…” He started than thought better of it and began again. “You’re amazing, Marinette. You are. You’re an amazing girl and a wonderful friend.”

“But?”

“No but.” He shook his head. “You are. You’ve always been there for me. You do so much to include me in things even when I can’t leave my house. You help me whenever I ask or whenever you know that I need it. You are always there with a smile and comforting word when my world is at its bleakest.”

“But?”

“Stop trying to insert a but into this conversation.” Adrien smirked and the lopsided grin made something in Marinette ache. “Listen to what I’m saying. You are a great person and I know that I have a learning curve when it comes to friends and relationships still. You say I’m with Kagami and maybe I am. I honestly don’t know. I mean we have definitely flirted but outside of almost kissing her once we haven’t really talked about it. I feel like I should like her like I know she likes me. She’s a great girl and we have a lot in common and we get along great. But…”

“We don’t need to talk about this if you don’t want to.”

“Yes, we do. I think we’ve been long overdue for this conversation.” He leaned against the elevator door. “I feel like I should be with Kagami because that’s what seems to be what’s expected I guess. She expects it. I expect it. Everyone else that knows us seems to expect us to date so I thought that was that. A nice girl that I get along with that I also find attractive. That’s what a relationship is supposed to be, isn’t it? At least that’s what I always thought. The more time I think about it though the more stale it sounds. When I look into the future I can see two paths before me. One is on this path with Kagami. It’s well paved and neat with little checkmarks telling me how far I’ve gotten and I can even see where it ends in the distance complete with a big old ‘Finished’ banner. The other path though is covered in fog so thick I would get lost immediately. It seems obvious which one I should take, right? My whole life rolled out in front of me with a clear goal and an easy road but the fog keeps calling to me. It promises so much more. Maybe something terrible is waiting for me in that fog but the fear of getting hurt is nothing compared to the fear that if I step onto that first path that I’ll never be able to get off it.”

“You don’t want to do something because it’s what everyone else expects of you.” Marinette leaned against the door next to him, “You want agency over your life. You want the choice to be with Kagami or to not be or whatever it is you want to be your own. No one else’s.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth. But the problem now is that I don’t know if me choosing to be with Kagami is because it is what I want or because I’m still being influenced by everyone else. It’s all just so confusing.”

“The problems and questions will still be there tomorrow no matter what. You can’t avoid it but I say that we’ve had enough excitement for one day and that all these issues can at least be delayed until we get back to Paris. That sound agreeable?”

“You still deserve an answer though. You confessed how you felt and I--”

“Adrien,” Marinette took his hand, “You’ll give me answer but only after you get your own head in order. Don’t go worrying about my heart.”

“But--”

“I can wait a few days or however long it takes for you to understand what it is you truly want.” She assured him, “Remember that it is what you want. You need to be selfish in your thinking. Don’t worry about how anyone else may feel about your decision. It’s not theirs, it’s yours. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“Good.” Marinette took a deep breath to center herself once more. “But you also have to promise me that you’ll leave all those troubling thoughts and worries tucked away for after the trip.”

“Only if you promise to do the same.” He booped her nose, “I understand better now that you overthink to the extreme.”

“We’re both over-thinkers.” Marinette laughed lightly, “Maybe two over-thinkers cancel each other out. We’re not thinking ourselves into knots right now.”

“I think we got it out of our systems for the time being.” He twisted the ring around his finger. “Thanks again for convincing me to stay. You helped me out more than you could possibly know.”

“Don’t mention it.” Her smile was quickly replaced with a cringe, “You don’t think your dad is going to be super mad that you didn’t get in the car, do you?”

“I say that is a problem to deal with when we get back Paris. Right?”

“It’s Future Adrien’s problem now.” Marinette nodded. “Get your dad a souvenir and I’m sure that’ll smooth everything over.”

The pair laughed and then promptly fell as the elevator doors opened up next to them and they went tumbling to the ground. Aeon and Jess were standing in the elevator staring down at them.

“Everyone was wondering what was taking you two so long. We wanna start the movie.” Jess said.

“Sorry,” They stood up, bonking heads in the process. “We were talking.”

“About what?” Aeon looked at them expectantly.

“Aeon, boundaries,” Jess pulled her back. “You done talking?”

“Yeah.” Adrien and Marinette shared a knowing look. “For now at least.”

“Cool.” Jess hit the button for the appropriate floor. “Hopefully the rest of tonight can be normal.”

Normal. Marinette glanced at Adrien and blushed when she saw he was already looking at her. Normal sounds great.


End file.
